Few issues seem to raise the blood pressure of those unhappy with government faster than the issue of double dipping.

The practice occurs in several ways but basically involves a public employee retiring and then returning to his or her job to draw both a regular paycheck and a retirement check.

The latest revelation is that several members of the Arkansas judiciary have figured out a way to do a bit of double dipping.

The crazy thing is that in many cases, double dipping is not illegal. In fact, up until a few years ago it was pretty much standard practice.

Recently, state Rep. Allen Kerr, R-Little Rock, has been the champion of the cause of closing the loopholes that allow the practice among state workers. His efforts have been met with resistance.

But the practice still occurs, with about 500 state employees receiving both a state paycheck and a retirement check.

On Tuesday, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, got the approval of the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Systems to study a method judges in Arkansas are using to double dip.

The opportunity is created by an odd quirk in the way the retirement system works. For most judges in Arkansas, retirement is through the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System, which is a separate system from the larger Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System.

However, district judges are an exception. Their retirement is through APERS, not AJRS. Consequently, a circuit judge who is eligible for retirement can step down and begin drawing retirement checks from AJRS, and then get elected to a district judgeship and draw a paycheck for that.

The amount a judge can draw by doing this varies, but according to Hutchinson, a former circuit judge could draw a retirement check of about $100,000 while at the same time drawing a district judge’s pay of about $120,000.

“If a circuit judge decides not to run for re-election, but instead chooses to run for district judge, in my view the judge should not begin collecting retirement benefits. It amounts to double dipping because the judges receive a paycheck at the same time they get retirement benefits,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson is not sure how many judges are taking advantage of the practice, but he’s certain it is occurring. The study should determine to what extent.

As Hutchinson sees it, there are two solutions to the problem. One would be to move the AJRS back into the same system with APERS, which would close the loophole. Another solution would be to disqualify AJRS retirees who are currently receiving a paycheck as district judge from drawing retirement benefits.

Hutchinson said he plans to consult with the judges after the study is completed to see which they prefer.

But there is one big catch. The soonest this loophole could be closed would be during the 2013 regular legislative session. The Legislature is unlikely to take up the matter during next year’s fiscal session.

That means it will be up to voters next year to take an extra look at candidates for district judge. If one of the candidates is a circuit court judge, you might want to ask them if they plan to double dip.